The FWC has counted a Rio Tinto worker's $20,000-plus remote area travel allowance as earnings that pushed her total income beyond the $153,600 cap for unfair dismissal claims.
A tribunal has upheld the revocation of a high school teacher's working with children authorisation after finding that while accusations and behaviours consistent with grooming had not been conclusively established, he continued to put himself in compromising situations.
An ASX-listed company failed to meet its own standards for investigating alleged misconduct when it neglected to interview two key witnesses and relied upon a manager's inaccurate account of a worker's response to accusations, the FWC has found.
An ASX-listed agribusiness accused of constructively sacking its chair when it cut his pay by $200,000 and demoted him claims it replaced him after COVID-19 caused a "disconnect" and its chief executive and secretary both complained about his conduct.
In a decision highlighting the challenges of managing remote workers during a pandemic, the FWC has awarded compensation to a salesperson dismissed after a director took exception to her attitude during a teleconference and drew negative conclusions about her productivity after scrutinising her Instagram posts.
The FWC has found that allowing a large employer to be legally represented would be "manifestly unfair", rejecting its argument that excessive complexity would arise from its HR manager having to conduct the case and act as a witness.
The FWC has extended time for an employee sacked for allegedly persistently flouting a COVID-19 OHS plan, after it accepted her law firm's explanation that the stresses of working from home hampered the mental health of the paralegal responsible for lodging her claim.
The Federal Circuit Court has criticised the Federal Department of Agriculture for taking a "belligerent", "intransigent course" in resisting an extension of time and seeking costs against a former employee despite her lawyers accepting full responsibility.
A marijuana-smoking supervisor who allegedly resigned after declining a drug test has had his unfair dismissal claim thrown out because a "project uplift" allowance of at least 25% counted as earnings that pushed him beyond the high-income threshold.
